In recent years, various cigarettes with a desired property imparted are known. The wrapping paper of such cigarettes has a band for imparting a property, and the band is formed by applying one of materials, which vary in the property to be imparted, onto the wrapping paper.
For example, a cigarette disclosed in PCT Application Published Japanese Translation No. 2001-509366 has a low ignition propensity, and this low ignition propensity is imparted by a plurality of bands. The bands are formed on the wrapping paper, at predetermined intervals along the axial direction of the cigarette.
A cigarette disclosed in the pamphlet of International Publication No. 01/84969 has a property of improving burning by suppressing the production of an undesired substance or aldehyde at the time of ignition. This burning-improvement property is imparted by a single band. Specifically, the single band is formed on the wrapping paper to be located at the distal end (ignition end) of the cigarette.
Further, a cigarette may have a band for improving the taste and flavor thereof, and such band is also formed on the wrapping paper.
In order for a cigarette as mentioned above to fully show its property, it is desirable that a band be formed on the wrapping paper accurately. Particularly in the case of the cigarette disclosed in the above-mentioned pamphlet, unless the band is accurately located at the distal end of the cigarette, the band cannot impart the desired burning-improvement property.
However, in making cigarettes of this type, it is very difficult to locate the band accurately at the distal end of a cigarette. Specifically, the common cigarette making machine comprises a garniture tape for making a web of wrapping paper travel at a fixed speed, a wrapping section, and a cutting section. While passing through the wrapping section, cut tobacco on the traveling web is continuously wrapped in the web, and the wrapping section continuously delivers a resultant tobacco rod to the cutting section. Then, while passing through the cutting section, the tobacco rod is cut to a predetermined length, so that individual cigarettes are obtained.
If the bands are formed on the web at predetermined intervals in advance, and the garniture tape and the web are made to travel in an integrated manner, the common cigarette making machine can make cigarettes having an above-mention band, accurately.
While the tobacco rod is being formed, however, if a slip occurs between the web and the garniture tape, no matter how slight the slip is, the slip causes a band for a cigarette to displace from its desired position, so that the band cannot be accurately located at the distal end of a cigarette.
In order to obviate this problem, it is thinkable, in the cigarette making machine, to relatively change the traveling speed of the garniture tape with respect to the timing of cutting the tobacco rod, or in other words, change the advance phase of each band in traveling relative to the timing of cutting the tobacco rod.
However, in the cigarette making machine, high-speed and stable manufacturing of cigarettes is ensured by keeping the traveling speed of the garniture tape and the timing of cutting the tobacco rod constant. Therefore, it is not realistic to relatively change the traveling speed of the garniture tape or with respect to the timing of cutting the tobacco rod as mentioned above.